Bollywood actor Aamir Khan gestures during a press conference to promote his new film "Talaash," or Search, at his residence in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

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NEW DELHI -- Bollywood actor Aamir Khan's remarks on intolerance have triggered polarising sentiments, with some people accusing him of defaming the country as well as hurting sentiments of his adoring fans, and others saying that he has the freedom to speak his mind without provoking a backlash.

Speaking at a journalism awards ceremony on Monday, Khan, a Muslim married to a Hindu, talked about how his wife, Kiran Rao, a film producer, feared living in India. Several Bharatiya Janata Party ministers including Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Suresh Prabhu and Najma Heptullah were present at the function.

"When I chat with Kiran at home, she says 'Should we move out of India?' That's a disastrous and big statement for Kiran to make. She fears for her child. She fears about what the atmosphere around us will be. She feels scared to open the newspapers every day." - Aamir Khan

Khan's remark coupled with Congress Party Vice President Rahul Gandhi tweeting his support for the Bollywood actor sparked a storm of rebuke. Some condemned his remarks outright, while others outraged about the bit on leaving India.

Gandhi said that the Modi government should reach out to those who "question" the state-of-affairs instead of branding them as "unpatriotic." "That's the way to solve problems in India- not by bullying, threatening & abusing!" he said.

We'll get intolerance more or less everywhere in the world.India should be the safest place for India's celebrity filmstar Amir Khan& family

A few Bharatiya Janata Party leaders came down on Khan like a ton of bricks, while the party's senior leaders showed restraint while opposing the actor's remarks. Others in the ruling party reminded him that his film PK was a huge success despite objections from right-wing outfits.

BJP's firebrand Yogi Adityanath said, "If Aamir Khan wants to leave the country he can go. The population of the country will come down."

For once, Adityanath appeared to be on the same page as the firebrand Muslim leader, Asaduddin Owaisi, head of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, who said that Khan was talking nonsense. "I would have never said what Aamir said. We have seen numerous riots but still we continue to live here as its our country," he said.

BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said that few cases of intolerance should be not be portrayed as the norm in India. "You can't take the exception to be the rule. You can't be alarmist over stray incidents," he said.

BJP's Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, in-charge of Minority Affairs, said, "Neither is he going anywhere nor will we let him go."

Smriti Irani, who heads the Human Resource Development Ministry, said that Khan being the brand ambassador for tourism, and speaking his mind before Jaitley, showed that free speech thrived in India. "I am a living example of Modi 's tolerance...he forgave me though I publicly attacked him," she told NDTV.

"You can't reduce people like Aamir and Shah Rukh Khan to one community or a particular point of view. They are speaking as individuals who really have shown over the years tremendous concern and patriotism for country," said Congress Party lawmaker Shashi Tharoor.

While an overwhelming proportion of the reactions have made Khan's remark about an insult to India, some offered more nuanced arguments as well.

In an open letter to Khan, HuffPost columnist Sandip Roy congratulated the actor for speaking his mind before cabinet ministers of the ruling party, but asked him where he would feel safe, and how his sentiment of moving out is different from the "hackneyed rebuttal #GoToPakistan."

"As a Muslim man, even if you claim to “represent everyone”, you do realize that even in the First World, Muslims are hardly the most welcome?," he wrote.

While most of the senior BJP leaders were restrained in their opposition, it was the trolls on social media who gave credence to Khan's sentiment. Some even resorted uninstalling the mobile app for "Snapdeal," an e.commerce website which Khan endorses.

@aamir_khan Everyone should boycott watching your movies. You are a disgrace to our country and I'm not even a BJP supporter. #AamirKhan